Epley v. John Gibson Auto Sales

2016 Ark. App. 540, 514 S.W.3d 468, 2016 Ark. App. LEXIS 574
CourtCourt of Appeals of Arkansas
DecidedNovember 9, 2016
DocketCV-16-140
StatusPublished
Cited by2 cases

This text of 2016 Ark. App. 540 (Epley v. John Gibson Auto Sales) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Arkansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Epley v. John Gibson Auto Sales, 2016 Ark. App. 540, 514 S.W.3d 468, 2016 Ark. App. LEXIS 574 (Ark. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

RITA W. GRUBER, Judge

hOn September 25, 2013, John Gibson Auto Sales (Gibson) filed a complaint in the Circuit Court of Garland County against Angel Epley for allegedly breaching the terms of a May 2013 motor-vehicle sales contract and refusing to return the vehicle, a 2001 GMC Sierra. Gibson sought replevin and judgment in an amount to be determined after recovery of the vehicle. Ms. Epley answered that the case arose from Gibson’s negligence, misrepresentation, breaches of warranty and contract, and statutory violations. She counterclaimed and sought damages for breach of warranty, misrepresentation, violation of the Arkansas Consumer Protection Act, and fraud. She tendered the vehicle to Gibson in November 2014, and Gibson picked it up.

The trial court conducted a bench trial in October 2015, took the case under advisement, and issued a written order on November 6, 2015. The order stated as follows:

1. John Gibson Auto Sales sold the vehicle to Defendant Epley in an “as is” | {.condition but, by a preponderance of the evidence, Epley was told by Gibson’s agent that she could return the vehicle within three days if she was not satisfied with it and her money would be returned.
2. Epley returned the vehicle, but [Gibson] refused to honor its promise to take the vehicle back and return her money, therefore Gibson’s claim for a deficiency judgement is dismissed with prejudice.
3. Epley’s continued use of the vehicle without paying [Gibson] serves as a complete setoff against any refund of moneys paid by her for the vehicle.
4. Epley has failed to prove any other damages attributable to Gibson’s failure to honor the rescission, therefore her counterclaim for damages [is] dismissed with prejudice.

Ms. Epley appeals, raising three points. She contends that the trial court erred in dismissing her claim for violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, dismissing her claim for fraud to induce the contract, and failing to award punitive damages. We affirm.

At trial, Ms. Epley testified to the following events. She went to Gibson and told the salesman, “Chris,” that she “already had a truck” she “was getting from another car lot” but wanted something more reliable. Chris showed her the GMC, describing it as “a little rough on the outside” but “good and reliable” and safe for transporting her child. She signed an “as is” buyer’s order and paid $600 down. Chris told her to bring the vehicle back if she did not like it and he would give her money back. She brought the vehicle back the first day after noticing that the transmission was slipping or the accelerator was sticking. She was given a loaner for “maybe a week” while the GMC was being repaired. She purchased headlights, a wiring harness, tires, rims, and a stereo for the GMC. 1 She testified, “I was | .-¡working for Mary Kay and I could not host a party.... The vehicle stopped on me several times.” She said that she put 1,500 to 2,000 miles on the vehicle and did not know why its GPS would show 18,000 miles for the time period that she had it.

Tony Esaw testified that he had owned the GMC for two years before Gibson sold it to Ms. Epley. He stated that he had paid for repairs to the front end, drive axle, gear box, front hubs, and brake rotors; he had damaged the vehicle; and he had put new tires on it. It had a bad motor and 110,000 miles on the odometer when he surrendered it to Gibson, and he told Gibson that the vehicle should have been scrapped and used for parts.

Ramona Hamilton, Gibson’s record keeper, testified that Gibson did not offer any additional warranties, that any additional terms would be listed on a buyer’s order, that salesmen were not authorized to inform customers that they could return a vehicle they did not like and get their money back, and that she did not know what the salesman had said regarding the GMC. She testified that Gibson occasionally used other vendors to do maintenance on a vehicle if a customer discovered a problem and that, in this particular case, another shop had made and guaranteed repairs to the GMC before it left the lot. She testified that Ms. Epley never made payments on the $10,900 sales price, that the vehicle was equipped with a GPS, that the vehicle was sitting on blocks when Gibson retrieved it, and that there was a hole where the radio would have been.

Points on Appeal

Ms. Epley contends in her first point that the trial court erred in dismissing her claim for violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, codified at Ark. Code Ann. §§ 1 ^4—88—101 et seq. Noting that the Act lists “deceptive and unconscionable trade practices,” she points to the following prohibited practice: “Knowingly making false representation as to the characteristics, ... uses, benefits, alterations, source, sponsorship, approval, or certification of goods or services or as to whether goods are original or new or of a particular standard, quality, grade, style, or model.” Ark. Code Ann. § 4-88-107(a)(1) (Repl. 2011). Ms. Epley contends in her second point that the circuit court erred in dismissing her claim for fraud to induce the contract. To establish fraud in Arkansas, a plaintiff must prove that the defendant intentionally misrepresented a material fact and that the plaintiff was damaged by justifiably relying on that misrepresentation. Roach v. Concord Boat Corp., 317 Ark. 474, 476, 880 S.W.2d 305, 306 (1994). We will discuss these points together because each claim required proof of misrepresentation.

Ms. Epley points to testimony regarding damage to the vehicle, its mechanical issues, and repairs that were made both before and after it had been sold to her. She notes her request for admission No. 16—“Admit that you informed Defendant that the vehicle was in good condition prior to purchase”—and Gibson’s response—“Admitted. Plaintiff maintains that the vehicle was in good, serviceable condition when purchased.” Ms. Epley otherwise merely lists pages of the record in the argument portion of her brief:

John Gibson’s fraudulent responses to discovery evidence [sic] that John Gibson used fraud to induce Angel Epley into an “as-is” contract. R 118-120, R121-124, R 125-127. John Gibson also provided untruthful testimony as to discovery requests and as to any prior damage to the vehicle. R 118-120, R 121-124, R 125-127.

|kMs. Epley does not specify the alleged “fraudulent responses” or “untruthful testimony.” 2 It is well settled that eonclusory arguments without supporting authority will not be considered on appeal. Calvary Christian Sch., Inc. v. Huffstuttler, 367 Ark. 117, 133, 238 S.W.3d 58, 70 (2006).

Regarding the salesman’s statement that the vehicle was in good condition, we agree with Gibson’s argument that “good condition” is subject to interpretation by the individual. See Cannaday v. Cossey, 228 Ark. 1119, 1121, 312 S.W.2d 442

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Bluebook (online)
2016 Ark. App. 540, 514 S.W.3d 468, 2016 Ark. App. LEXIS 574, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/epley-v-john-gibson-auto-sales-arkctapp-2016.